Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds opted to skip the 2025 Oscars during Hollywood’s biggest night amid the ongoing Justin Baldoni legal battle.
The Gossip Girl alum, 37 – who recently slammed Baldoni’s ‘shameless’ legal war with the New York Times – and her husband made the decision to also not make an appearance at the SAG Awards late last month as well as the Golden Globes.
However, the couple did make a surprise showing at the SNL 50th anniversary event last month – and faced backlash after Reynolds poked fun at the lawsuit.
Back in December 2024, she accused Justin of sexual assault and launching a smear campaign against her. He responded by filing a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan and their publicist Leslie Sloane.
Despite the pair’s absence at the 97th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Reynolds’ 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine was notably mentioned during host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue.
Towards the end, the comedian broke out into song about not wasting time during the glitzy awards ceremony.
Blake Lively, 37, and Ryan Reynolds opted to skip the 2025 Oscars during Hollywood’s biggest night amid the ongoing Justin Baldoni legal battle; seen in February in NYC
As he grooved on the stage, Conan sang, ‘Hey, check it out, someone who’s not even nominated, dancing Deadpool/I won’t waste time, I won’t waste time.’
The character Deadpool then suddenly appeared and began dancing next to O’Brien as he continued to belt out lyrics in front of the star-studded crowd.
Deadpool & Wolverine did not garner any Oscar nominations for this year’s ceremony, but received nods at other previous awards shows.
The movie garnered a Golden Globe nomination for Cinematic and Box Office Achievement as well as a SAG Award for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
Blake has been involved in the highly publicized legal battle with her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Upon filing her lawsuit in December, Blake not only sued Baldoni but also producer Jamey Heath, Wayfarer Studios co-founder Steve Sarowitz, crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan, Jed Wallace and his publicist Jennifer Abel.
Along with his $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Justin is also suing the New York Times $250 million in a libel lawsuit after the publication reported on Lively’s allegations.
The two stars are set to go to court later next year in March 2026 – which was revealed back in January.
Back in December 2024, she accused Justin of sexual assault and launching a smear campaign against her. He responded by filing a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Ryan and their publicist Leslie Sloane; seen in 2024 in NYC
Despite the pair’s absence at the 97th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Reynolds’ 2024 film Deadpool & Wolverine was notably mentioned during host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue
Most recently in the ongoing drama, Lively stood behind the New York Times as the publication fights to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s massive $250 million defamation lawsuit.
The outlet filed a motion in a New York federal court on Friday, defending its reporting on Lively’s accusations against Baldoni, according to Deadline.
The NYT maintains that its reporting on Lively’s sexual harassment claims against Baldoni was fair and accurate, while asserting that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ ‘one-sided’ allegations have no relevance to the publication.
The Wayfarer Parties FAC tells a one-sided tale that has garnered plenty of headlines,’ the filing states, per the outlet. ‘But The Times does not belong in this dispute.’
A spokesperson for Lively also backed the motion, telling the outlet, ‘In its motion to dismiss, The New York Times correctly calls out Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit for what it is: a shameless PR document that has no business in a court of law.’
The rep also added: ‘For years, Baldoni urged men to listen to and believe women.
‘But when a woman spoke out about his behavior, he and his billionaire backer Steve Sorowitz used a social media combat plan’ to scorch earth and try to ‘bury’ and ‘destroy’ her, along with the media who reports on it.’
The rep continued, ‘These bullying tactics will not survive in court, and everyone should see their meritless claims for what they are.’
As he grooved on the stage, Conan sang, ‘Hey, check it out, someone who’s not even nominated, dancing Deadpool/I won’t waste time, I won’t waste time’
Deadpool & Wolverine did not garner any Oscar nominations for this year’s ceremony, but received nods at other previous awards shows
In a December 21 article titled We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, The New York Times shed light on allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation made by Lively against Baldoni during the production of It Ends With Us.
Following this, Baldoni and his PR team filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Times on December 31.
The 87-page libel complaint filed in LA Superior Court accused the NYT and its journalists of being in league with Lively with the December 21 article that ‘cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead.’
While the initial lawsuit in California has been dropped, the Times has been added to Baldoni’s amended complaint in New York, which also names Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane.
‘Over the course of their 224-page First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) (plus an added 168-page timeline), the Wayfarer Parties breathlessly tell their side of an ongoing Hollywood drama involving actors Blake Lively (“Lively”) and Justin Baldoni (“Baldoni”), the stars of the film It Ends With Us,” the New York Times’ court filing submitted on Friday reads, per the outlet.
‘The FAC has, to some extent, achieved its obvious purpose; the Wayfarer Parties’ story has been reported by countless news outlets during the last few weeks. What the FAC has not done, however, is plead a viable claim against The Times.’
Per Deadline, the memorandum accompanying the dismissal motion added: ‘Throughout their blunderbuss complaint, the Wayfarer Parties seek to drag The Times into their larger feud with Lively.
‘But the only thing The Times is, in fact, alleged to have done is engage in newsgathering and publishing an Article and Video about the Wayfarer/Lively dispute.’
The publication contends that its involvement was limited to standard newsgathering and reporting on Lively’s complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, per Deadline.
Most recently in the ongoing drama, Lively stood behind the New York Times as the publication fights to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s massive $250 million defamation lawsuit
A spokesperson for Lively also backed the motion, telling the outlet, ‘In its motion to dismiss, The New York Times correctly calls out Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit for what it is: a shameless PR document that has no business in a court of law’; seen in 2024 in NYC
Addressing allegations of collusion with Lively’s team and biased reporting, the Times’ legal team asserted, ‘Despite the Wayfarer Parties’ hundreds of pages of screengrabs, outrage, and rhetoric, this is a very simple case: the Article is absolutely privileged as a fair report, and the Wayfarer Parties’ defamation claim fails.’
No hearing date has been set for the motion to dismiss.
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the Times, told Deadline, ‘As our motion shows, this case should never have been brought against The New York Times.
‘Blake Lively raised serious concerns about the way she was treated on the set and after the movie’s release. We did exactly what news organizations should do: we informed the public of the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department.
Mr. Baldoni’s misbegotten campaign against the Times—questioning our ethics, attempting to discredit our reporting, filing a baseless lawsuit—will not silence us.’
Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the Times, told Deadline, ‘As our motion shows, this case should never have been brought against The New York Times’; seen in 2024 in L.A.
Blake’s support of the NYT’s legal move comes hours after it was reported that she hired Nick Shapiro, the CIA’s former deputy chief of staff, to serve as her PR crisis manager amid her escalating legal battle with Baldoni.
News of Lively hiring Shapiro come after a judge blocked her efforts to make Baldoni surrender more than two years’ worth of texts and call data.
Federal Judge Lewis Liman said the trove of data would be so vast it could include communications with nonparties or sensitive information related to doctors and psychologists.
He also questioned why Lively needed texts dating back more than two years to prove that Baldoni and staff from his Wayfarer production company started to harass her in 2024.
Judge Liman told mom-of-four Lively to rework her subpoenas but didn’t quash them entirely.
Baldoni’s lawyers wanted to stop her from asking third parties for similar discovery materials but Liman tossed that argument.
News of Lively hiring Shapiro come after a judge blocked her efforts to make Baldoni surrender more than two years’ worth of texts and call data
Baldoni’s team earlier this month released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of romantic drama.
He claimed in court filings they made efforts made to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us.
Baldoni’s team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website – which already has fans talking – makes things clear about the motives of both parties, marking the latest chapter in the feud between the It Ends with Us headliners.
The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
Oscar winners 2025 full list – see who received honors for this year’s Academy Awards
Best Picture
Anora – WINNER
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Anora was the biggest winner of the night as Mikey Madison earned Best Actress
Best Director
Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker — Anora – WINNER
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
James Mangold — A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison — Anora – WINNER
Demi Moore — The Substance
Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here
Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody — The Brutalist – WINNER
Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande — Wicked
Felicity Jones — The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez – WINNER
Zoe Saldana was recognized in the Best Supporting Actress category for Emilia Perez
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov — Anora
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain – WINNER
Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce — The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Animated Feature Film
Flow – WINNER
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematography
The Brutalist — Lol Crawley – WINNER
Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez — Paul Guilhaume
Maria — Ed Lachman
Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke
Original Screenplay
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain — Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 — Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; co-Written by Alex David
The Substance — Coralie Fargeat
Sean Baker earned three individual honors for Anora in addition to Best Picture
Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown — James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave — Peter Straughan – WINNER
Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys — RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing — Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
Achievement in Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked – Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales – WINNER
Achievement in Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Dune: Part Two won Best Achievement in Sound as Gareth John, Richard King, and Ron Bartlett are seen left to right
Original Song
El Mal – Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard – WINNER
The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
Like A Bird – Sing Sing
Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
Original Score
The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg – WINNER
Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers
Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot – WINNER
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress – WINNER
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land – WINNER
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
No Other Land took home Documentary Feature Film as Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham are seen left to right
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra – WINNER
International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil) – WINNER
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance – Pierre Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli – WINNER
Wicked
Achievement in Costume Design
A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
Conclave — Lisy Christl
Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu — Linda Muir
Wicked — Paul Tazewell – WINNER
Blockbuster Wicked did not come away empty handed as Paul Tazewell became the first Black male winner of Achievement in Costume Design
Achievement in Film Editing
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — David Jancso
Conclave — Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
Wicked — Myron Kerstein
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
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